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Posts: 1,153Girls...I need your opinion. I just sold a little panda bear and the lady who won wrote and asked me if I would email the pictures I had on the auction for her photo file.
Have you ever had that? This is a first for me....I don't understand it.
Any opinions are welcome.
I have right click protection on the photos in the auction.
Nanc.........
Back Road BearsHmm.... never had that happen but then I've never protected the photos on auction. There must be a reason why you've protected them. So, I suppose you need to decide if it's OK for the new mom of your panda to have the pictures. You wouldn't be giving them to anyone else. Maybe you can state that they are for her own personal use and hope she respects that. Or, suggest she take her own photos! The latter sounds a bit harsh. She may just keep an album of her artist bears on her computer. Or, maybe she's so excited about your panda that she wants to email a photo to her friends/family. I wonder if you could kindly ask her WHY she wants the pictures, would she settle for one?
I'll be anxious to hear what other's suggest. Let us know how this works out!
Daphne
Posts: 8,574Well,
1. logically thinking it through; if she were going to copy anything she can certainly do it easier when she receives the bear. So that doesn't seem like the reason.
2. Logically thinking how we are here, greedy little gollygusses wanting piccs of everything everyone is doing....we love piccs, and ask for them all the time
3. Is it possible that she too loves piccs, is excited, wants to see
now? kind of like us?
4. If she has nefarious intentions she going to do it anyway...
So the thing to think through is, are you as a mom adopting out one of your cubbies, uncomfotable sending pics? If you are maybe you could forget she asked....and wait for her payment to clear...
Also can you check up on her- doesn't ebay have something where you can read comments about the buyer of your stuff just like they can read comments about you the seller?
I would not get excited until I read the comments and gleaned what kind of person she is from that.
Any help?
hope so
Dilu
Posts: 1,153you gals are great....thank you so much for writing such detailed and good advice.
I am sure it is ok....just wondered if anyone else had had the same experience and why she would want a picture if she bought the bear.
I will send her a picture.
Thank you sooooo much, you gals are very therapeutic.
Nanc.......
Past Time BearsI've never had that request before, either, but surely whatever she wants the photos for, she could accomplish it by taking photos herself after she receives the bear. Our requests for photos on this board are just because we want to see what everyone's bears look like . . . 'cause we can't see them in person, or bearson!! It's probably just an innocent request . . . but guess no one can intuit her intentions. Good luck, Nancy!
Posts: 8,574Hey Nanc....
be sure to let us know what you do decide.....
dilu
Wild Thyme OriginalsDear Nanc,
I've actually had three folks ask me to either have me e mail them pictures of a bear they had purchased, or send actual printed out pictures.... I've always gone ahead and done it! One lady just wanted thme for insurance purposes.... She has an enormous collection that is privately insured. Another has a sort of filing system whereby she keeps records of how much she paid, when and where she purchased a bear, their hang tag if it's removable. I do know quite a few collectors who do this.... an envelope full of info on each bear.....
I do see your concern however with the occasional unscrupulous type person running a hoax auction or some such mean spirited thing....
Beary truly,
Kim basta
Wild Thyme Originals
LuxembearsI agree with you, ladies. I also recieve requests for photos and I usually send them. I too, think they buyers want nice photos of thier new babies. As long as they are not profiting from them I think it is okay. HOWEVER, whatch out for reselling on ebay with YOUR photos. Someone correct me if I am wrong ,but I beblive that is a copyright no no.
Winneybears and FriendsI hadn't thought of that Judi. Might be a good idea to superimpose something across the photo that can't be easily erased ? ..Winney
I think it's a copyright nono too.
I actually had a collector post my original auction photos -- which I can only assume she must have downloaded and kept at the time of my original auction, "just in case" she ever decided to resell that bear.
At first, recognizing the moral/ethical/copyright dilemma this presented, I felt a little bit miffed and cornered and anxious that a customer would so blatantly use MY photographs in HER auction, without even a note to me to let me know she was doing so... much less to inquire, "Is that okay, Shelli?"
In the end, though, I didn't do anything about it.
Maybe I'm a little too into myself, but I ultimately figured, "Hey... If my bear is going to resold, I'd rather it resells for a price equal to, or higher than, the original price. And what better way to have a tiny measure of control over that, than with the use of my own photos to display my work?"
The bear did sell for more than the original price (actually, significantly more, which made me feel very happy and proud indeed), and since I've spent a lot of time developoing my (still not nearly professional) photography skills, I have to believe that it was the photos, at least in some small measure, that had something to do with that appreciation.
This is the second of my bears to be resold on eBay (that I'm aware of, anyway.) The first one also sold for a higher price than the original one, but the photos taken by the collector for her auction were... less than spectacular, let's put it that way.
Why not just ask this person, "Why did you want photos of this bear? "...
... and then offer, "I ask because your purpose in requesting them will determine how I send them to you. If you want photos for insurance purposes I can send hard copies with your bear; but if you have a digital record keeping system I can send small 72dpi jpg's. If you want photos of this bear on hand in case you someday decide to resell, that's fine too... but I'd like to be credited for the photography. Thanks!"
Just a thought...
Posts: 8,574Great point Shelli- and for ever unscrupulous icky out there there are 100 wonderfu. people. So I think your bear went to some one who will really love it! Maybe even a thousand. It is hard to believe the badbear people are more than 0.01%.....isn't it?
A silly thought to add to the mix; who doesn't have a camara? So why don't they wait until the bear comes and take their own pics.
Hmmmm
Well, maybe because you're quality is better....its the only legit reason I can come up with.
It is interesting for all of us to be thinking about-even if we are not planning n selling, (moi) and sort of find ourselves in the business rather behind on things, (me again) and play catch up. So you have brought up some important things
I keep s file system of a picture of every bear/golly that I sell or give away and on the back write who,where,what, why when etc....That way I know. I also include any paypal receipts if they used paypal....that way I have their address and I think knowing the country is really neat.
Dilu
Posts: 1,153You girls have brought up some really interesting points.
I did go ahead and send her two pictures and gently said...'for your personal use only'
I am sure, after listening to what you have had to say, especially the notes like Judi, where you have had buyers request pictures...that my buyer is probably doing it for her personal records. She did say that.
I wouldn't dare ask, (altho your idea Shelli was grand) what format she would like them in....Lord, she might get techie on me and I couldn't perform!!!:lol:
And secondly, I am really a no body in the bear world...so it really doesn't make any difference, when you think about it.
Thanks so much girls for all your input...YOU"RE GGGGRRRRREEEAAATTT!!!
Nanc..
Past Time BearsHa! You're a nobody in the bear world??? Not MY bear world!! You are a great somebody and don't ever forget it, my dear!!
Just Us BearsNance,
Your beautiful creations are up there with the best..don't put yourself down! The only difference between you and the 'somebody's' you refer to, is exposure..and you're working' on that!
You'd do well to read the little quote in my signature...which incidently, I gleaned from the label of a bottle of Tamari of all things..:lol:
Posts: 1,153AWWWW Sue Ann and Hayley....thank you so much :)
I didn't say that to glean such sweet comments....I was just stating a fact....but I sure loved what you said!
It made me feel good.
ummmm wah !
Nanc..........
Wild Thyme OriginalsWhat a great point you made Shelli regarding folks using the artist's photos to resell on e Bay... I don't think I've ever seen one of my bears resold yet, but then I rarely get a chance to look at e bay that much! When I made dolls I did have a couple resold.... the first one was with some simply awful photos taken by her new owner... i am not all that thrilled with my own photography skills, so I can't complain too much, but OMG... these were awful and truly turned my sweet little fairy child into something that looked like a piece of a fingerling potato or something! It did bum me out to see my name attached to an auction that showed my work in such a bad light. The other time, the re-seller actually e Mailed me and asked if I still had my original photos..... which I happily e Mailed to her to avoid the type of embarrassment i experienced the first time around.
I'm crtainly not meaning to sound harsh about folks who do sometimes resell dolls or artist bears through e bay... I'd just rather have my work look the best it can when it reappears!
Oh... It is a copyright no-no to use an artist's photos without permission.... Probably not so much so in the bear world.... but in the fine art world... one of the way that museums turn a profit is by selling the photographs of the artwork contained within their walls for textbooks etc.... It's actually a great amount of income for them.
Beary truly!
Kim Basta
Wild Thyme Originals
Posts: 8,574Nanc
lets say we agree with you (which none of us do) that you are nobody
NOW
But can you predict the future?
Do you know for sure that 10 years from now you wont have won
every single award, been on the Today Show, Be in all the mags.....
Do you?
Can you really predict you wont be a big name?
So given this premise, does it change your thinking?
One of the heartbreaks of the quilting world is all the wonderful antique quilts that Great Aunt Fristina made, but nobody knows anything about her,.....and she created wonderful patterns the set the whole quilting world on its ear, but she didn't have them copywrited, and she didn't have her name anywhere and so instead plain old Nancy Jo0nes of Podunk USA PUTS HER NAME ON IT....GETS ALL THE GLORY, MEANWHILe (oops caps lock) she couldn't sew a STRAIGHT LINE TO SAVE HER LIFE!
Now-hows that for a differant perspective?
ERGO we all need to take precautions to protect our ideas.
hmmmmm
even silly golly makers, I guess
Dilly
Baird'sBearsWell-said as usual, Dilu, :D
If I've learned anything from these forums, it's that nobody in the BearWorld is a Nobody, and that the Somebodies are the Salt of the Earth. Is this Utopia or what?
I firmly believe that the work of Bear Artists must be promoted as art--huggable art, maybe, but that's part of it. Huggability doesn't just happen.
The Art Gallery of Ontario has displayed for the last many years a giant fabric hamburger. I repeat--a giant fabric hamburger, as ART. Somebody made this piece of crapola, called it art, and there it is. They don't even let people jump on it.
I'm going to spend the months of August and September building up my bear inventory and honing my photographic skills and building a website. Before Christmas, I mean to display my little Dudes and Dudettes anywhere and everywhere--shop windows, library & bank displays, wherever. All they can say is no, and I've heard that before and lived. I may not have a name yet, but I've got ATTITUDE. First-born American Leo. I survived three teenaged daughters and, unless somebody shoves a preying mantis in my face, at this point in my life I'm fearless!
Eileen
Lisa, don't knock your suspiciousness. I know for a fact, from the mouth (or, rather, typing fingers!) of another very well known and respected bear artist, that last year someone was using photos of her bears and running just that -- fake auctions, for items which couldn't possibly be availble, because they were one of a kind, and either still in possession of the artist, or at the home of a known collector.
I try not to let suspiciousness get the best of me, but like every other corner of the world, eBay has it's mis-users and abusers. Watermarks are not a bad idea at all. My own auction template service even places some kind of "image block", if you so desire, on your photos, so that there is coding in the template that makes it impossible to view/copy/save your images. Clever, clever auction template service (The Seller Sourcebook, for anyone interested.)
The one problem with doing this, though, is that I myself like to copy and save teddy photos sometimes, for inspiration or future reference. Sometimes I like the color combination used and want to try it for myself. Sometimes there is a particular nose shape of interest I might want to check out. I save clowns for clown ideas, etc. So image blocking makes this kind of referencing impossible, which is a bummer.
Like most everything in life, one must take the good with the bad... I guess.
Posts: 1,153Dilly ...thank you so much, that does give me a different perspective. I understand what you are saying completely.
I have tried to break into the bear world...really I have. When I came up with the brain-storm to make a needlefelted yorkie, I submitted it to Teddy Bear and Friends for possible inclusion in Bears and Bruins...and wouldn't you know that the lady who copied everything I was doing, also submitted a picture of hers and Mindy put hers in. I cannot tell you what that did to me. Not only was she copying me, she got recognition for it being her original idea. So I just, frankly...gave up.
That made me feel like, what was the use.
Kind of like the old saying...crime pays, I didn't have a cadillac, so I stole one and now I have a cadillac.
I have read with great interest what Shelli put in about the dead lines for Toby. I think I am going to give it a shot this year. I just never knew when and how. I will need to figure out how to edit the photos correctly to their guidelines...but I feel like Eileen. I want to go for it! The most they can do is say NO...they can't eat me!!
So see, maybe I can become a somebody...you are right!
nanc...
